In a national survey of U.S. adults, the number of close friends increased with age and 76% reported having three or more. However, 8% reported having none. There are limited parallel data for gifted learners but the survey provided an opportunity to compare the two groups. The numbers of close friends for gifted learners appears to increase from…

This article discusses concepts related to character strengths and positive youth development and how these ideas can be applied to improve outcomes among gifted young people. A theory with roots in public health, The Theory of Triadic Influence (TTI), is discussed with examples applied to gifted populations. Practitioners and researchers from…

This paper explores the social-emotional challenges faced by bright immigrant youth. We incorporate Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory to identify complexities across the model's 5 layers. In the microsystem, cultural heritage conflicts with assimilation, disrupting support networks, suggesting the need for culturally sensitive support in…